Trapped
by Silver Sneasel
Summary: Riley is a seventeen year old boy, whose family moved to Rion after the death of his sister. When he discovers a strange pokeball while avoiding a festival going on in town, he soon finds that it belongs to a strange girl who is part of a sinister game. A game that has her fighting for her life, and the lives of everyone else in the region. Part one of The Rion Trilogy.
1. Chapter 1

THE RION TRILOGY:

TRAPPED

CHAPTER ONE

He had no clue why he was here. Not in the 'why am in this universe, doing these things' way, but the, 'why the hell am I out in this field,' way. Now, most people, finding themselves out in a field, would normally end up looking for some sort of civilization. Unfortunately, he ended up stomping through the grass, sending small bugs spiraling up into the air, heading towards the large tree he could see out in the middle of the godforsaken grassland. It was hot, and he did not want to be there.

So maybe his real question was, what am I doing out here, in this damn heat, instead of at home, in the nice air conditioning? But he had an answer to that question, so instead he asked himself what the hell he was doing here. He knew the answer to that too, although he wouldn't readily admit to it. He was looking for something... someone. She had said she would be out here, by the large tree, so that's where he was going.

He was probably a fool.

She had said to meet her here though, said that it would be the best place, secret, quiet... he felt goosebumps shudder up his spine as he remembered the tone... the implications... in her voice. He was probably a fool though... He wasn't really sure what he was thinking, falling for another trick, getting laughed at when they somehow got it that he'd gone and been alone. He was the newest to the city, the entire region, so he was the first to be picked on. He had thought he was decent looking back in Johto, but they had been beating at his self esteem since he'd gotten there... He was a little tanned, his face was a little too long maybe. He had a slim build, disturbingly so for the amount of food he ate... He had dark blue eyes, at night they looked almost black, and orange hair chopped short, a little messy maybe, but he'd liked how it had stuck up, that had been the style. Now he was growing it out again, and it looked worse. Maybe if he just covered it with a hat...

Why was he thinking these things? He hadn't really cared how he looked before, why should he now? It was his last year of high school, then he could just get out and practice with his Pokemon, make a living for himself studying... well, something. He wasn't really sure what yet though. He enjoyed training, although he didn't really consider himself a trainer because he had no interest in badges. The town, really more of a small city, Even Town, had not been kind to him during the past few months. Not only did he have limited contact with all of his friends, but he had been picked on constantly since arriving seven months ago. Most of the kids in his high school back home had outgrown that, most of the kids here just seemed to see him as fresh meat, someone ignorant, someone to play with because he didn't know how the rules worked... he shuddered slightly. There were weird things going on in this region.

He knew it, or at least strongly suspected it. He'd looked it up when his parents had suggested moving there. He hadn't been happy, but his fathers work was making them move, and this time too far away to go visit anyone. He had still been seventeen then too, just barely too young to live alone. There had been little information on the region, and what information there was had seemed almost... clipped. He couldn't find any history on the region at all, not in the library or the school, all of the history that had been taught was oral, for the most part. It was like the region didn't actually exist. He chewed on that for a minute.

'Maybe I'm actually dead.' He thought to himself. 'Maybe this region is some sort of hell... and I died and now I'm stuck here. That would explain it. That's why I feel like I'm back in middle school, and why it's been so hot for the past few weeks. Even though it must be getting close to winter.' He smirked at the thought. Winter in Johto had been cold, a little bit of snow, but here... he was positive that it would rain buckets... at least in this part of the region. It was humid here, almost like Hoenn. The air felt like it was pressing in on him, or maybe that was the disappointment of arriving at the tree and no one being there.

He didn't know why he kept trying. He looked up at the bare branches, frowning. Why had he even bothered to come out here? Why would anyone bother to come out here? It was pointless, stupid... This field was empty except for this lone tree, somehow an important symbol of the town. They said that it was over two hundred years old, that a long time ago a girl had hung herself there. She had been bound to a monster, a dangerous and evil creature, and she sacrificed herself for the region. Riley frowned at the tree.

There was a rope, hanging out of a branch. The tree had grown over it. He looked at that rope. The body was gone, they said it had been buried under the tree. The oldest person in the town told the story. Riley wasn't positive, but guessed that the man was between eighty five and ninety... maybe older. The old man said that he'd been alive when all of this happened. Riley thought he was senile. It had probably had nothing to do with a curse. It was probably just another case of depression, pain... Riley stared at the tree a little longer. Is this why she'd told him to meet her here? So he could see the rope? Was it some kind of warning? He sighed and turned his back to the plant, the monolithic tree... standing, alone, in a field. Like him. He had been so stupid, again. He leaned against it's trunk, sliding down, feeling the bark like rough fingernails through his shirt.

He looked up at the rope again, watching it sway slightly as the heat of the day began to dwindle. It was getting to be far past noon. Riley considered for a moment that he should go home, he didn't really want to right now though. He thought about that rope, how had it not crumbled to dust yet? How was it still here, swaying with that gentle and unaware breeze, with the no longer existing weight of that girl... He shuddered. He shouldn't be here. Someone had taken their life here, kicking a chair out from underneath their own feet... Riley shoved himself up, away from the bark. He turned around and backed up slightly, as if afraid the tree would catch him in the same kind of trap. Maybe he _was_ afraid... He took a couple deep breaths, looking at that forlorn rope, looking like a vine that had sprung from inside the tree.

It was part of the tree, now. Maybe one hundred years ago it hadn't been, but now it was. The bark had grown over and covered it, taking it in, growing around it and covering the place where it had been tied.

He wanted to touch it.

Out of some morbid fascination, he wanted to touch this thing, hanging like the stinging tail of a poisonous Pokemon, and feel the weather worn fibers of the rope... he felt goosebumps rise on his neck and shoulders. It was just a rope. He bit his bottom lip for a second, contemplating almost, whether or not he would actually touch the thing. Of course he wanted to touch it, to feel that piece of history... but she had hung herself with that rope, it was a place where someone had fallen, where her neck had snapped, and where battered and frightened townspeople had found the body, swinging, so long ago. Someone had buried her here, under this tree.

He took a deep breath, and took a step towards it. It was nothing to be afraid of, so why did he suddenly find himself frightened? He shook his head, sighing. Now was not the time to play stupid games with himself. He turned and began walking through the field, the grass quickly making it's way up to his knees. He stuck his hand in his Pocket and gently touched the two Pokeballs concealed there. More Pokemon came out during the evening around here. He stopped paying attention to his feet, he couldn't see the ground anyway, it wouldn't do him any good to just look at the grass. Instead he looked to the sky.

It was nice out here... at least as far as scenery went. The few towns he'd been to seemed to have taken great care to not disrupt the natural beauty of the places they had been built... that was at least one thing to appreciate about this place. This place, with no past and seemingly no future. Everything was too... calm, here. Far too calm for the underlying tension he felt at every little thing.

In Sinnoh, the atmosphere of the whole region had been one of excitement, Hoenn was almost old fashioned, but in a way that lent itself and embraced the new technologies that were being developed... he'd liked Hoenn. Kanto was... well, colorful. There was a mix of everything, from and air of excitement and adventure to one of deep respect and sorrow... they said that Kanto was the first region to start the Pokemon League, something that hadn't been developed properly in this region. Johto had been his favorite though, he'd actually traveled a little bit, nowhere far, but he'd gone from Azalea Town to Goldenrod City with a few friends last year. Johto seemed to combine an adventurous spirit with one of deep respect. He'd felt like he belonged there.

This wasn't Johto though, or Kanto, Hoenn, or Sinnoh. It was Rion. A creepy little place that no one had ever heard of, had no history, and seemed to mock him no matter where he went. All of the history he had heard about the place was just myths, legends, stories. He'd never heard one factual thing, not how people had found the place, no discoveries, no nothing but the story about the girl who had hung herself. Depressing.

Looking up, he could see the evening star, just as the sun was beginning to sink. He'd been out in this field for long enough. Even Town was named for the Evening Star, because they said it shone brightest here. Another myth.

"The evening star shines brightest here, because it is a place of purity. Yeah, right." He mumbled. That was another part of the myth, about the girl, that the star could be seen brightest here because she had cleansed the land by killing the monster... What kind of monster was there that could bind itself to a human? That was ridiculous. Sure, humans and Pokemon formed bonds, became friends, but for any creature to actually become part of a human... Riley shook his head with a slight sigh, and looked in front of him. He was standing at the edge of the town now.

"Been waiting for you to come back. Why did you go out there?" The boy jumped and turned, blinking at the man leaning on the cane. He was old, with a neatly trimmed white beard and eyes that gleamed even in the dark. His face was somewhat thin, and weathered looking.

"Just... looking." Riley muttered, backing up a step.

The old man began walking, the rubber end of his cane thudding rhythmically on the brick road. Every road in the town was brick. Riley followed, off to the side and a little behind him. The old man smirked slightly, "You weren't thinking of doing anything with that rope, were you?"

The boy blinked in surprise, pausing for a second, "no, why would I?"

Had he considered..? no. That wasn't something he would ever do. No matter how bad it got... He'd wanted to touch it though, his hands still itched to feel it. Why would this old man... Orion, that's what his name was, why would Orion even think something like that?

"Lots of kids do. Go out there, touch it, wrap it around their necks for a second, just to feel it. Just to see if they could do it. One kid, he went out there once, stood there for hours on a kitchen chair, with it just there, around his neck... No one can kill themselves out there, because of her." Orion glanced at the boy, to see if he was listening.

"Huh." He muttered, knowing he was waiting for some kind of response. "That's... odd." and disturbingly morbid. Riley added in his head. "I was supposed to meet someone, they didn't show. I wasn't going out there because of the rope, I forgot it was there," he lied.

"You knew they weren't going to show up. You went out there because you had nothing better to do. Or she called you, but I doubt that." He paused for a second, looking at Riley. "I knew her... you aren't her type." The old man muttered, almost to himself.

The boy shuddered, the words causing this involuntary reaction. If what Orion was saying were true, then he had been there. It seemed like such a long time ago, but Orion was still alive. Maybe that didn't make it quite so long ago... Rily shook his head, irritated about Orions comment more than he should have been. "Everyone doubts everything. I get it, no one wants me here, happy? I'm leaving as soon as I get out of school." He almost shouted the last sentence, his voice growing in annoyance and anger.

"That does not make me happy, Riley. You should go home, get some sleep, tomorrow is the Evening festival. Everyone should be there, feeling wanted or not." Riley stood there, mouth slightly open as the man got ahead of him, and then turned down a different road. He hadn't thought anyone in the town besides the few who picked on him even knew his name, especially not the town elder...

He stuck his hand back in his pocket, pulling out the two Pokeballs and throwing them into the air. The two Pokemon flashed out, the beams of red light twisting into the forms and solidifying. One of them yawned, his eyes closing for a second. The blue and black puppy looked up at Riley, giving its sapphire blue tail a slight wag. It was bipedal, standing on two legs, with red eyes, surrounded in a mask of black, with a small ring of yellow fur around it's neck. His ears were small, and twitched slightly as the yawn ended, one fang sticking slightly out of his mouth. Riley smiled at the Riolu, "hello Rain."

The other seemed to just be a little ball of orange fluff, with two coal black eyes peering at him through the fuzz. Three long yellow feathers stuck up on it's head, and two fuzzy yellow wings fluttered slightly as the Pokemon darted about the bricks, and around Rain, chirping happily. "Hello Shine."

The Torchic chirped a greeting through it's beak, then went back to poking at the Riolu. All Rain did was stand there, looking at her, then he suddenly sent her toppling over with a quick nudge of his paw. He smiled, then walked over to Riley. Shine muttered a dignified "tor" and walked over behind him, giving him a peck on the paw. The puppy rolled it's eyes.

He picked them up, placing one on each shoulder. They were actually his sisters, had been, his sisters. Now she was- he cut off the thought. He didn't need to be thinking about things like that right now. He began walking home, making a mental note to stay as far away from Orion as possible. Even if he did know Riley's name, he made the boy feel uncomfortable, as if the man had lost most of his marbles.

XOX

And end Chapter One.

I have an interesting idea for a story in mind here, if you can put up with me creating a new region. I wasn't going to, but then I realized that it was the only way I was going to be able to get the story to work the way I wanted it to.

The region is called Rion. If you have any questions about the region, then feel free to ask. Rion is located to the west of Orre, which would be it's closest neighbor and is still far enough away that Rion and Orre never get involved with one another.

My character named Riley has nothing to do with the Pokemon character from Diamond and Pearl. I'm sorry if that's disappointing, but it's difficult to avoid using every name that's been used in the Pokemon world.

_The Rion Trilogy is Copyright Silver Sneasel 2011-2012_

Star Ball, Riley, Elane, Rion, Chess as Depicted, the Houses, and other characters not belonging to Pokemon are copyright Silver Sneasel 2011-2012, and are not to be used without permission.

Pokemon, Kanto, Sinnoh, all other named regions, pokemon such as Torchic, Persian, and Rilou belong to and are copyright Gamefreak and the Pokemon company, 1995-2012


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Riley spooned some strawberry jam onto his toast, looking out the window. It actually seemed like it would rain today, the sky was full of gray puffy clouds, and the air was thicker. It looked as though it would quickly turn into a bad day to have a festival, but he could see people setting up for it already. Men and women claiming spots to set up shops, bright pastel ribbons were being strung from rooftops in twisting patterns. His mom was out there, talking with one of the neighbors and helping her blow up balloons to decorate their shops with. He could hear some playful music, and see a few people walking around with instruments. They were probably all heading in the same direction, looking for a place to play. He took a bite of the toast, then set it on a plate and opened the cupboard to get down some Pokemon food.

'For a happier, healthier Pokemon!' Riley rolled his eyes at the box, decorated with pictures of happy looking Pokemon sitting around a picnic table. He picked up two of the food bowls off the floor, and filled them. Rain and Shine where there in an instant, Rain looking a little bored, but wagging his tail at the sight of the food. Shine was bouncing around Riley's feet, insistent on getting something to eat as soon as possible. He laughed as the little puff of orange feathers lost it's balance and fell over. He set the food on the floor and gave them both a rub on the head, then stood up and grabbed his toast, taking another bite.

He didn't have much of an interest in going out there. He didn't know anyone, and as far as he was concerned, none of them were worth getting to know. Whenever he went outside, for walks, looking for a spot to train with Rain and Shine, or just going to the store, people looked at him like he didn't belong there, and he knew it.

Riley frowned as the doorbell rang. His dad was out helping set up the stand for the travel agency he worked for, and his mom was outside, so that meant that whoever was at the door wanted to see him. He sighed again. One more month of high school, just one more, and he would be free to go anywhere else on the planet...

He walked to the front door, moving around the table slowly. The door was old fashioned looking, thin lines of black iron twisting into patterns, woven around frosted glass and wood. He turned the knob, setting his face neutral as he pulled open the door. He frowned slightly as the person standing there came into view. He was carrying around something on his back, a long package that was strapped to him across his chest and shoulder, and grinned as the door opened. Riley frowned further. "Hello?"

The boy looked almost familiar, about his age, with light blue eyes and curly yellow hair hidden under a hat. He was wearing tan cargo shorts and a dark blue t-shirt with a wide white stripe diagonal across it. Riley guessed that they were in the same class or something. He gave the boy an unamused look as he spoke, "uhm... It's Riley, right?"

"Yes. What do you want?" He tried to ask the question nicely, but it came out a little harsh anyway. Shine was now glancing up at the new person in interest from behind his feet, Rain had just walked over, standing there looking up at him with a slight suspicion.

The boy crouched down and scratched the puppy's head, immediately endearing himself to the blue and black Pokemon. "Cute Pokemon, are they yours?"

Why was this person here? Standing around asking questions? And touching his Pokemon? Why was he _letting_ this person touch his Pokemon? He frowned even more, his face almost twisting into a grimace. "They were my sisters. Do you need anything?" 'Who the hell are you?' Would have been a more appropriate question, he thought. His mother was just a few feet away though, and who could tell if she was listening?

"Sorry, I just came out here for the festival. I was wondering if you knew where this competition is, I can't find the place." He said all of this cheerfully, despite the look on Riley's face. He suddenly produced a poster, as if out of thin air, and held it in front of the annoyed teenager. How could someone be so disturbingly happy in the face of someone who obviously didn't want anything to do with them?

He looked at the poster, he'd seen a couple on the bulletin board at school. "It's at the courthouse, that's the building with the statue of the tree on top."

"The one that's holding the star?" John turned around, to point at it.

"Yes. The one holding the star." Riley grumbled dryly. The other boy nodded, turning back to face him. Riley took this moment to shut the door. He walked back to the table and quickly stuffed the rest of his toast in his mouth. He walked into the living room and ran upstairs to his room. It could have been mistaken for a disaster area, clothes covering what may have been a carpet, the dresser covered in glasses, empty plates, and a few beer bottles. For a few seconds he considered the notion that he should get rid of those before his parents found them. It wasn't really that huge of a room, big enough for his bed and dresser, big enough for him to make a mess of it quickly... too small for actually doing anything though. Sleep, get dressed... At least the bathroom was just across the hall, and his parents had their own bathroom now, so the one across the hall was basically his.

There was another room, downstairs. They used it for storage. Originally, it had been for his sister. He ground his teeth, fighting to keep thoughts of her out of his mind. They had moved because of his dads job, they had moved _because of his dads job_, it had nothing to do with that!

Quickly finding a hat to shove on his head, he barely noted that it was blue and white, and grabbing his... _her_ backpack, he made sure Rain and Shines Pokeballs were in there. The two Pokemon were in his room a second later, and he returned them. He slid the pack on over his red hoodie, shoving the Pokeballs into the pocket of his blue jeans. He ran down the stairs and took a deep breath, walking into the kitchen. He leaned against the wall for a second, breathing slowly. He opened the cupboard and grabbed a box of granola bars, just shoving the entire thing in his pack. He had to get out for a few hours, had to get out...

His sister would have been all over this festival.

Riley yanked the door open, and almost ran into the boy standing there. He stopped, stared for half a second, then shouted. "What the hell!"

"I know you aren't from around here, I've seen you around before. At the school, I've seen you there."

"Why are you still on my front porch!? Don't you have a contest to go to!?" He couldn't just shove past the boy, his mom was watching now.

The boy rolled his eyes, "you'll want to be careful, if you didn't grow up here. People can see it. I know, I'm from Johto. This place is messed up, you'll want to learn what you can before you end up-" Suddenly he turned around, looking a little scared, "look, just watch your back, okay? Don't do anything stupid." The boy turned and walked away quickly, going in front of a passing group of people. Riley was going to watch the boy to figure out where he was going, but after the people had moved there was no sign of him.

"Weird." He muttered. He looked around for a second, and walked out of the house. His sister would have loved this place, the entire region was a mystery to solve, a curiosity. She would have started by talking to Orion, she would have figured out their real history easily enough, calling him on her PokeGear- He slammed the door and stomped down the porch, sharing a quick glance with his mom. She gave the slightest nod, barely visible. He had to get out.

The town was fully decorated, shops open and people talking and selling things. There was a game to see who could catch the most Magicarp in the shortest time, it looked as though the winner got a Lumineon. Someone throwing darts at balloons, a few food stands, people playing music on every street. He walked quickly, the things just passing by, barely registering in his mind. They were just objects to be avoided.

Bright colors, twisting ribbons, people talking talking talking, Riley ground his teeth. He had to get out of here. The field, to the east, would anyone be around the tree? Would anyone be out there? He didn't care, it was a destination, a place to go. He turned down the road, out of the corner of his eye he caught a glance of Orion, who seemed to be watching him. The old man's eyes seemed to go right through the boy.

Riley had no interest in talking to Orion. He wasn't his sister, he didn't care about this place. He came to the end of the road and ran through the grass. It crunched beneath his feet, the little bugs spiraling up in clouds of panic, he left a clear trail of bent and broken fronds. Blood pounding in his ears, sun rising higher... had it taken an hour both ways last time? Seemed like it. It was a place to go. He felt the grass cushion his sneakered feet, suddenly off balance, suddenly on balance, a rhythm... He listened to it, felt the burn. He was running again. Running from everything like he always did. Leaving his thoughts behind where they belonged.

They had moved because of her.

They had moved because of his dad.

His dad could have gone back Sinnoh. They could have gone back to Sinnoh... the company had been pushing to send him here. They were here because she was dead, and those other places held too many memories.

Riley panted, crouched with his hands on his knees, in front of the tree whose wide branches spread out as if welcoming him, as if trying to embrace the sky. Riley glared at it, and at the forlorn lonely rope hanging there. Had she been someones sister too? How long had it taken them to find the body? They tree was far enough from the town that you would have to be up high to see it. To realize that there was someone twisting in the breeze, dead by their own hands... He gulped the air, eyes shut for a second, for two, then three. He stood there, maybe for five minutes, just breathing, mind empty, a sort of hum in his ears as he blocked out everything.

He hated this. He hated these people, he hated this stupid tree! "I hate everything! I hate this place! I hate this region!" He shouted, pounding a fist into the tree, he hit it a second time, then leaned his head against the rough bark. "I hate her for dying. I hate her for getting herself killed." He muttered, tears finally making their way out of his eyes. All his sister had ever done was train, and train well. All she had ever done was the right thing, helping people even when she had expressed how much she disliked them? He couldn't even be nice to a boy he had never seen before.

He wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his hoodie, taking a deep breath and dropping his pack on the ground. This was disgraceful. He knew better than to cry over her. He knew what she had done, and now he had to take care of all that she had left behind. He crouched by the pack, and unzipped it. He frowned at the inside, sticking his arm in and grabbing the items out one by one. He pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink from it, then placed it back in. He finally found what he was looking for. It had been a gift from Silph, a new product.

It was round, almost flat, and a little heavy, but not so heavy that he noticed the weight when it was in his backpack. He could see a small fan near the top, three buttons at the bottom. He checked the side, twenty-eight more uses before he had to change the cartridge. They had fifty or sixty extra of these cartridges, since the company had heard about- Riley shook the thought away and set it on the ground, then tapped the button to the right with the toe of his shoe. He heard it click on, a small blue light beneath the fan flashed on through the black shiny surface. He could hear it hum slightly, a disturbing noise in the otherwise empty field.

He dug a hand in his pocket and threw out the two Pokeballs, whose cargo was instantly released in a red flash. He tapped the middle button, and suddenly a Sweet Scent filled the air. The two Pokemon waited, Shine looking ahead with confidence and a disturbing amount of patience. Riley waited too, and suddenly the grass rustled... then it rustled again... as if something were moving just behind it. All of the fur on Rains neck stood up, and he growled, a harsh and threatening sound coming from deep in the Pokemons chest. Shine glanced at him and backed away from the grass, her confidence disappearing.

Riley stood on guard, prepared to give a command. He hadn't seen the puppy ever react like that, and suddenly he realized that he'd never even asked about the strength of the Pokemon in this field. He wanted to smack himself in the head, but he would need to be paying attention, when whatever it was out there attacked.

A shudder ran up his spine as he suddenly saw a flash of red, something in the grass just barely a different color... "Bullet Punch!"

Rain flashed out of view, paws shining silver, into the tall grass. Riley stiffened as he heard a low growl, and suddenly a slight hiss of pain. The puppy appeared out of the grass and darted back to Riley, glaring at the lightly waving, some of them crumpled, fronds of grass. The hair on the back of Rileys neck stood as he heard a low growl. "Rain, Double Team. Shine, Focus Energy."

Three other Rilou appeared, standing in a semi-circle in front of the Sweet Scent machine. Shine shut her eyes for a second, a light glow around her... The Persian pounced, a flash of tawny fur and vicious claws, a low roar in it's chest as it pinned the fuzzy chick... "BULLET PUNCH!"

Rain and the three mirages attacked, silver paws slamming into seventy-five pounds of tan fur and muscle. The cat hissed and grabbed one of the Rilou in it's jaws, throwing it into the ground. The image disappeared in a puff and the Persian went back to it's pinned target, opening it's jaws only to get a mouthful of fire. The Pokemon gagged, suddenly gasping and opening and closing it's mouth over and over, a pathetic sound coming from it as it tried to get rid of the fire burning its lungs.

Riley grabbed the pack on the ground and unzipped the pocket. He couldn't let it just stay there like that, choking. He threw the Pokeball. If he could catch it, he would be able to get it to a nurse. The Pokemon looked up, surprised for a second as the ball hit it, and suddenly it was transformed into a bright red energy and pulled inside.

One shake... If it couldn't be caught, it would die...

Two shakes... It would be his fault.

A third shake... Alice never would have made a mistake like this.

It dinged. He let out a sigh of relief.

She had had a Persian. It was her favorite, even though she denied having a preference, you could see that she had spoiled it. He knelt down next to the little sphere, blue on top, with two red lines. A great ball. He hadn't paid attention while grabbing it, but he was glad he had. If it had been normal? Would it have captured the Pokemon? He wasn't sure. He probably wasn't even allowed to have it until he got his license renewed.

Riley watched the two other Pokemon. Rain was carefully looking over Shine, who was just sitting there, eyes wide. He was an idiot. He had almost let the Persian _eat_ her. How could he have been so stupid? He should have known better, he should have used a Smoke Ball or PokeDoll and run. He hadn't been thinking. He picked up the ball in front of him and shoved it unceremoniously into his pocket. There was nothing to celebrate here.

He scooted on his knees carefully towards Shine, Rain watching him. He picked up the tiny orange ball of feathers, holding it close in his arms. How could he have done this? How could he have been so stupid? These two were all he had left. Sure there were things, but Rain and Shine had been part of her, and now he couldn't even take care of them properly. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." He mumbled into the birds soft feathers.

He set her on his lap, the Torchic was still trembling. It stared up at him, and he stared down at it, stroking her, trying to get her to calm down. Rain was watching them, Riley didn't seem to notice his own tears, dripping down his face.

The sky cracked, with a harsh roar of thunder, and rain began to thud down, as if someone had invited the clouds to cry with him. Rain walked over and picked up Shine out of the boys lap and walked over to the tree. There was a small hollow at the base. The Pokemon set her inside, and walked back out into the water, grabbing Rileys hand and giving it a sharp tug. The boy took a deep breath, and sat still for another minute until the Rilou gave him a Bullet Punch to the stomach, knocking the wind out of, and the sense into, the now drenched teenager. It took him another minute, but he stood, grabbing the items and walking under the tree. He pressed the left button on the machine and shoved it in the pack as it turned off, then he began searching for another item in the bag.

Another prototype item from Silph. He pressed the button in the middle, and suddenly a bubble of energy appeared, covering him. Rain and Shine were in the tree, looking out at him. He quickly pulled a laptop out of the pack and turned it on. He was growing impatient, he only had fifteen minutes with the shield, it was low on batteries. He hadn't planned anything. He was so frustrated! What was wrong with him today?

Finally it showed the main screen, and he got into Alice's file and pulled out the tent. He saw a flash, and half in and half out of the force field appeared a fully set up tent. The computer worked exactly like pokeballs, just on a larger scale. Things were transformed into data, and that data was stored in the laptop, easily accessible whenever and wherever you needed it. He frowned for a second, then pulled out a few berries, which appeared in another flash of red light. He wished that he could use it to transfer the Persian, but putting Pokemon through your own computer caused problems. You had to have the power of a Pokecenter computer to be able to transfer Pokemon.

Rain was already unzipping the tent, a still shocked Shine being led inside. Riley sent out three more bottles of water, some medical supplies, and the photo album. He turned off the computer, and put it back into the pack. He grabbed the supplies and put them in the tent, then turned off the shield and ducked inside. He bit his lip, looking around. He'd never used the tent before. There was a cot, a couple bean bags, a small night stand... He realized that he was standing on a rug, in the back there was a cooler. It was like a small sort of replica of her room from when they lived in Johto.

He frowned. He should have just... just what? Not used the tent? It was storming outside, putting Sine in the pokeball would just make things worse. He would have to send the Persian out and take care of it anyway. Leaving Pokemon injured while in their Pokeballs for extended periods of time was cruel.

Too many mistakes! He took a deep breath, and began going through what he'd grabbed. A few burn heals, Rawst berries, basic medical supplies. He had no clue what he was doing! This was stupid! Stupid stupid stupid! What was he going to do now?

Rain and shine were curled up on one of the bean bags, the Torchic was asleep, the Rilou watching him with caution. Riley stood up with a sigh and went over to the cooler, opening it. A few cans of lemonade, some cheese sticks, a few other things. He wondered how well exactly the computer preserved food. Obviously well enough by the state of the berries.

He walked over to the night stand, brushing his fingers across the top. There were two pictures there, he picked up the larger one, his face seemingly locked into a frown. It was the last family picture they had taken together, just a couple weeks after moving to Johto... She was smiling, giving him Buneary ears, he set it down. The other picture was of a boy he had never seen before. He guessed that this was the rival, maybe more than a rival, that she had. He set the picture down. Had he figured out what happened yet? Had someone told him during the Johto finals when she she didn't show up? Had he wondered, when she didn't show up for the preliminaries?

She shouldn't have died! It was wrong! She had worked so hard, and suddenly she was just gone! She had had a life, she had been training so hard, she was going to win the League this time, and she died! She was only eighteen! And she had died! That was messed up, it was wrong, it was twisted!

And there was nothing he could have done about it.

A shiver ran up his spine as he realized this. No matter how many times he imagined taking her place, or somehow preventing the entire situation, his sister was still dead. He pulled the Pokeball out of his pocket and grabbed the scanner from the pile of supplies he'd pulled out of the computer. He set the ball down in the slot, and pressed the small button on the side. A green light hit it and the machine beeped twice then a small screen on the side showed the condition of the Persian. There wasn't any major damage. He decided it was worth a shot.

Riley returned Shine, who was asleep. He bit his bottom lip, the little Pokemon would be fine, but he still felt guilty. He shouldn't have tried to battle the cat. Rain sat in the bean bag, watching him with interest as he sent out the Persian. The Pokemon was surprisingly calm, and it lay down on the floor of the tent, mouth open and panting to cool the burns in it's mouth and throat.

Riley knelt down in front of the cat, a little nervous. He didn't like being this close to it's mouth, this close to the long fangs. He placed the Burn Heal in front of it, and the Persian glanced at him like he was crazy and went back to panting. He slowly picked the bottle back up and placed the nozzle in front of it's mouth, it let out a feint hiss, and he sprayed, backing up quickly.

The Pokemon was on it's feet, face in his after a second, standing over him. After a moment it looked surprised though, and backed off, licking around its mouth and cocking it's head slightly as it sat down. Riley stood up, making sure the bottle was in clear view. There had to be a better way to get the rest of the medicine inside of the Pokemon.

He almost smacked himself in the head. Rawst berries, duh! He slowly stood and went over to the pile of supplies, going through it until he found them. The blue-green berries had an interesting scent, almost like strawberries, but... somehow evoking a sour taste in the back of his throat, even though he only smelled them. He set three in front of the Persian, just dropping them there and going to sit on the other bean bag. For some reason he was exhausted, he just wanted to lay there. Just wanted to listen to the thundering rain. He felt something soft under his hand, and he scratched Rain behind the ears, slowly petting his head and staring up at the roof of the tent...

.~.~.~.~.~

Riley jolted awake, the breath shuddering into his lungs. It took him a few seconds to realize where he was. He blinked a few times, looking around. Why was it so dark? He shoved himself up, taking a few deep breaths. His back ached. It took him a minute to realize that it must be night. The Persian was sleeping peacefully on the floor of the tent, Rain was curled up against Shine on the other Bean bag. There was a light coming from somewhere in the tent, and he realized that the lamp on the table had been turned on. He guessed it ran on batteries.

He ran his fingers through his hair a few times, sighing. He must have slept in the tent all day... missed the entire festival. Not that he actually cared about the festival, but his parents would be worried. He frowned and looked around, seeing the backpack neatly packed, and setting on the foot of the cot. He hadn't done that, had he?

He stood slowly, wiggling his toes to make sure the feeling in his legs was working. He walked over to the cot, a little wobbly, and opened the pack, everything was there. He unzipped each pocket, making sure... He was positive, he'd left most of the stuff just sitting on the floor of the tent. He unzipped the last pocket, pulling out the PokeGear that was now registered under his name. He was about to open it and select his parents number when something else in the pocket caught his eye. He'd placed the Cell Phone-like device in the pocket that would normally be used for mail. He pulled out the neatly folded piece of paper.

Someone had been in the tent. That was his first thought, nervous and a little frightened. It could have been anyone, they could have done anything. He unfolded it and peered carefully at the piece. It was just a drawing, a picture of a tree, of the tree, he could see a thin line, and a loop representing the noose. In the branches there was a picture of a star... Why would someone give him this? It was pointless. Was it some sort of message? Was it a warning, a symbol?

He set the PokeGear down on the cot and walked outside. He looked up at the tree, then down at the picture. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something, maybe a glint of steel? He couldn't figure it out. He looked back at the piece of paper, and then at the tree. There was something he was missing here.

He walked up to the tree, touching the trunk, feeling the bark beneath his fingers, rough and smooth at the same time almost. He frowned and crumpled the paper in his fist, shoving it into his pocket. This was just another joke! Why would someone playing a joke clean up the tent and then just leave him a piece of paper? He turned slightly, looking at the rope. It had the noose tied in it, waiting... just waiting.

He wondered what it would feel like. He tried to shake the idea out of his head, but what would that feel like, touching the rope there? Hanging a foot above his head? He could just touch it, let it brush his fingertips, rub the edge between his thumb and fingers... Riley shuddered, but couldn't get it out of his head. He had to touch it.

He had to know what it felt like, that thing that had killed her. He stepped under it, looking up as it gently swayed in the night breeze. He turned back to the tree. Why had she picked this one out in the middle of the field? He looked up, and it was there, dangling. He reached his hand up and let it brush his fingertips.

He did it again, grabbing it and feeling it in his hand. It was just a rope. It didn't feel any different from any other rope, except maybe a little softer from years of being beaten by the weather. He wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. There was nothing special about it besides what someone had done with it. There was no threat in it. It was nothing. He glared at the tree, and suddenly blinked. Right between two of the branches there was a star.

No. The form was too definite. He frowned, and let go of the rope. He walked around the tree, finding a low enough branch to grab onto and pull himself up. What was he doing? He hadn't climbed a tree in years.

He pulled himself up to the next branch, and up another, the muscles in his arms aching slightly with the exercise, the bark cracking slightly under his shoes, pieces falling down to the ground. He felt a breeze and realized that the tree had no leaves. Was it dead? Had it ever had leaves?

A little higher, just a little more. The branches were getting thinner, he began climbing more carefully, aware of his height off the ground. He was just a few feet away... a few more feet wouldn't be a problem, it could take his weight...

He frowned as the branch thinned to the width of his leg. He could feel it bending and broke into a sweat. He wrapped his arm around a branch sticking out and leaned. It was just setting there. He had never seen something like it before. It was a black ball, on the top there was the shape of white diamond.

The wood was creaking beneath his feet, he could feel it. Riley was nervous, if he fell, he would probably at least break something. Probably several somethings. He inched out a little further, reaching out his hand and suddenly feeling the cool smoothness of the object in the palm of his hand. He jerked his elbow, bringing the object into his chest, breathing in a sharp gasp as the branch cracked and disappeared from beneath his feet.

XOX

Thanks to japaneserockergirl for reviewing chapter one.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Riley groaned, he was surprised, for some reason, that he was still capable of making noise. He kept his eyes shut, breathing in... breathing out... breathing in... he wasn't sure if he wanted to open his eyes, he knew he had fallen a long way. His body ached, but there were no sharp pains, nothing that he could detect. He knew that something had to be broken... or he was dead.

A slight shiver went up his spine at the thought. If he were dead, what would his parents do? He couldn't be dead, not after what had happened to Alice. He opened his eyes to see a clear blue sky, it was late morning. He took a deep breath, and slowly took inventory of his body, moving his arms and legs, finally sitting up. His head hurt, and his vision went fuzzy for a second. He frowned, blinking until I cleared. His back hurt, his chest hurt, his arms and legs and every other part of his body felt like it had been smacked around like a pinball... which is mostly what he remembered about falling out of the tree. Being smacked around, like a pinball, by every branch he had seen on the way up.

He frowned, still looking up at the sky. He should at least have broken ribs, but breathing deep hadn't been a problem, just a little bit of an ache. This was one of those freak accidents, he knew it, where the person that had been in it should be dead. He had somehow survived without a scratch, or at least without any broken bones. His hoodie would have to go in the trash. Riley looked at it, there was a huge tear through the middle... he took it off and looked at his stomach. He was covered in bruises, and there was a cut across his stomach and chest, but it wasn't even deep enough that it would need stitches. It had actually already scabbed over. He'd gotten worse by just falling over.

When had he woken up last night? Two? Three? He had no clue. Suddenly why he had been in the tree came rushing back to him, and he got to his knees, a sudden bout of dizziness keeping him from standing. He leaned forward and wrapped grass around his fingers, breathing slowly. He must have a concussion, that's the only explanation he could come up with, it would explain why his head hurt so bad.

After a minute it passed, and he slowly leaned back onto his shins, looking around on the ground... there it was.

He picked it up, and sat down in the grass, examining it carefully. It was completely black except for that little white star on top that was in the shape of a diamond, but he knew that it was supposed to be a star. Further examination revealed the button, and he stared at it. He'd seen all kinds of Pokeballs, but nothing like this. He pressed the button, and nothing happened. He frowned. That was weird, it wouldn't open. He tossed it up into the air, and nothing happened then either.

"Well that's weird." He muttered. Maybe it was for storing items? A lot of trainers did that when they ran out of room in their pack, they would put some of the items into a Pokeball and minimize it, making more space. It wouldn't be that weird to just make one for that purpose. He looked around, and found a rock sitting on the ground. Pressed the item against the button, and it turned into white energy, and was sucked inside.

White energy? Riley stared at it, he had thought that all Pokeballs flashed red. He pressed the button with his thumb, and the ball opened and the rock appeared. Did that mean it was empty? He pressed it back against the button, and there was the flash of white light.

Rock out, white light, rock in, white light, rock out, white light, rock in- "For the love of your damn life, would you please STOP THAT!"

He dropped the Pokeball, looking around, shocked slightly. He couldn't see anyone. The voice had been distinctly female, but he had no clue where it was coming from. He felt exceptionally stupid as he picked up the Pokeball, "hello?" He muttered, looking at it. Riley frowned in embarrassment.

What was he doing? Falling out of that tree must have scrambled his brain, he must have really knocked his head hard, five or six times. The voice had been a figment of his imagination, he was sure. It had sounded real enough, but he was positive that it was just a product of his headache and falling out of that stupid tree. He pursed his lips for a moment, considering it for barely half a second before pressing the button again. Out flashed the rock, and now for some reason he was flat on his back, his face in a sharp pain along with his head throbbing.

He could taste blood, he ran his tongue along the spot where his teeth had cut the inside of his cheek. He blinked in surprise as the rock was forced from his hand. He slowly sat up, just in time to see her chuck it out across the field. "What's the big idea? You keep messing around that damn rock, and you don't even know how to open the ball properly? Who was the idiot that let you play Chess?"

He stared at her in shock. Mouth opening and closing a couple times, then he snapped his jaw shut and looked at the Pokeball on the ground. Then he looked back up at her. She... had come from the Pokeball? "What?"

She pressed the heel of her palm to her forehead, muttering incomprehensibly. Finally her voice got loud enough for him to hear. "...left me with a moron who doesn't even know hot to use it... why would they even do that?"

"Why would who do what? I'm not following you." He was getting irritated. He was not an idiot, just because he didn't know about one thing in particular...

She sighed and moved her hand to her side. He took the chance to get a good look at her. Her face was a little round, with a splay of freckles across her nose and cheeks, she currently had a frown set on her lips, eyes that were such a light brown they were almost a tawny yellow glared at him from underneath carefully shaped eyebrows. Her hair was cut just about shoulder length, black except for a white diamond bleached into the side...

He could tell from the way she looked at him, that she wasn't used to people being ignorant about her situation. She seemed toned, maybe how most trainers would look after years of working with Pokemon, but had a sort of wildness about her that he couldn't place. He noticed that her feet and shins were bare, but the rest of her was covered. She was wearing dark blue jeans that had been cut off at the knees, an orange t-shirt that was obviously made to fit her, and a light gray jacket.

She was thoroughly embarrassed, but there was no way she was letting it show around this moron. "They gave me to someone that I have to _explain _it too?" Was this some sort of new thing they were trying? Making them painfully aware of their situations by having them explain it to morons?

"What's with your hair?" He said, and immediately smacked himself, burying his face in his hand. That had been a stupid thing to say, she was obviously already irritated with him, why did that have to come out of his mouth!?

If eyes could shoot daggers... Well, at this point he wouldn't be surprised. He didn't think he would ever be surprised again. "They dyed it, to show that I'm new. Normally it's red and white-" She stopped at his reaction.

He had a puzzled look on his face. "Red and white?"

"Yes. Red and white. I want you to listen very carefully, because if I have to explain this twice, I'm going to have to kill something, and the closest _thing_ I see, is _you_." She paused for a second, to let this sink in, and went on, "I'm what they call a Pawn, which basically means that I'm new to this. _This_ is Chess, something that started a long time ago. Eight years ago I was just a dumb ten-year-old running away from home, and about five weeks later, I was being trained for this disturbing little game they refuse to give up. And now! Now, I am stuck with an idiot who doesn't know how to play. What did your parents do? Shelter you to death?"

"I'm from Johto." He was going to tell her that what she had said hadn't really cleared anything up for him, but the look on her face promptly shut him up.

"When did you move here?" The words were obviously choked out, as if she didn't want to ask the question.

"A few months ago. I think... around the end of September? I'm not completely sure, I had other things on my mind at that time..." He trailed off, watching her. Why would she care? He had absolutely no clue what she was so upset about, and it was beginning to annoy him. Actually, he was already annoyed, now he was just getting mad.

They had placed her with an Eligible. No. They hadn't placed her with one, he had somehow managed to idiotically find the Pokeball before the person she was actually supposed to be with got it. This was a mistake, a problem. She wasn't supposed to be here, with this moron, she was supposed to be somewhere else.

She frowned to herself. Where _was_ she supposed to be? She had no clue what direction to go in, and she couldn't go more than a mile from the Pokeball without being automatically knocked out. "Star Ball," she muttered to herself, reminding herself that Pokemon couldn't be caught in the black and white sphere. It was a human specific device, created for, and only for, the game of Chess. She couldn't carry it with her either, fifty steps and she was back in it.

"Look, I don't have any clue what you're so mad about, but I got some stupid picture of that stupid tree there," he pointed at it the branches of the tree, "and I ended up _climbing_ it, because instead of doing the smart thing, and leaving that Pokeball," he swiftly moved his hand, so his finger went from pointing at the tree to the item on the ground, "up in it, I had to make a stupid decision and give myself a concussion falling out of the damned tree, while getting that stupid device. Oh, and now _you're_ here, and I have no clue what the hell to do about it. I just got this stupid Persian, which is bad enough because it reminds-" He cut himself off, squinting at her. He wouldn't tell her about that, he had no clue who she was. She had been rude enough, she didn't deserve to know anyway.

She sighed, at least he was a trainer, that would help. He had gotten a picture of the tree? She turned and took a good look at it. It cut an impressive form in the field, it was tall enough that she could see how falling out of it would be a problem. She focused her vision and immediately spotted the rout he had taken up, and where he had fallen, breaking the branch. Someone had put her in a tree? In. A. Tree? Then this wasn't a mistake. "What's the date?" She asked, as he stood up slowly.

"January Second." He muttered, brushing off his knees. He was done talking to her, he walked over to the tent and unzipped it, three Pokemon looked up at him from inside with curious glances, and quickly ran out. The Persian rubbed up against his legs as it stepped outside, a low purr rumbling through the large cat. He stepped inside and grabbed the pack and PokeGear sitting on the cot.

"I missed the first competition, which means we'll have to challenge." She muttered to herself, growing in her already-existing irritation. It was hard enough already, being who she was. Now she had ended up with an Eligible.

She looked up at him as he exited the tent. "Right, well Idiot, you at least know how to train, and you seem to have some supplies and Pokemon, so we may as well get started. I'll explain to you how Chess is played once we get on the road..." She stopped at the look on his face. One eyebrow cocked just slightly above the other, and his mouth had formed into some sort of smirk.

"Who ever said I'm going anywhere with you? I'm going home. Why can't you just go off by yourself? And stop calling me an idiot, I have a name. How would you like it if I just called you Pokeball Girl?" He knelt down beside the pack he had taken off the cot in the tent, pulling out the laptop.

Her eyes grew wide, he wasn't a real trainer? She wanted to scream! This was some sort of joke, it had to be. Or maybe someone had just hidden her Star Ball because the didn't like her? That had happened before, usually the Chess Piece would be found sick or dead. She felt nauseous. She knew she was stronger than most, why would someone just leave her here!? _"You have to!"_ She shouted, fear and panic immediately taking control. "Look, my life hangs on weather or not you play through this with me!" She shut her mouth, taking a deep breath, calming herself down. Panic never got anyone anywhere. This was just a situation she hadn't banked on. No need to get worked up.

He finished returning the tent to the computer. Now he was sure that she was being overly dramatic. Her life? "Why? What am I playing?"

"You're playing Chess..." She took a deep breath, to get rid of that slightly desperate tone in her voice. She would not convince him through her own desperation to get out of this game. She was better than that. "It was devised about two hundred years ago, basically, and I mean very very basically, it's like Pokemon training. Only with people instead."

She had a serious look on her face, she seemed to have set it like that so she wouldn't show off any other emotions. He was appalled, because she didn't seem to be joking. She was part of some sort of... training? He had no clue what to say, so he slid his backpack on and crouched on the balls of his feet, looking at the grass. Rain and Shine were investigating the girls feet. Riley realized that he had no clue what her name was. Unable to think of anything else to do, he asked it.

"Elane. What's yours?" She decided that being a little nice to him would probably be a good idea. She had to get him to cooperate.

"Riley Vogel. I have to call my parents, and let them know I'm alive. You can come back to my house, but I really have no clue what's going on. Maybe you could explain it to me there." He pulled the three Pokeballs out of his pocket and returned the three Pokemon, Rain and Shine looking up as they were transported away from this strange new person. The Persian lazily watching them, offered no objection to being returned. He minimized them and stuck them in his pocket, uncomfortably aware of her gaze at him as he picked up the black Pokeball on the ground. He just minimized this, stuck this in his pocket, not even bothering to look at it for more than a few seconds. He wasn't really sure about taking it with him, but it seemed like the thing to do.

"Fine." Elane muttered, shoving her hands into her pockets. He hadn't even asked her how the Star Ball worked. She would have to tell him what it was before they got into the town or city he lived in. Until her hair grew out enough to get rid of the embarrassing Pawn symbol, she would have to stay in the ball. There had been more and more problems with people getting attacked because they had a Chess Piece. She didn't need this idiot getting hurt because of something he didn't know.

He began walking, holding his PokeGear to his ear as he made his way into the grass. She silently followed. "Hey mom." ... "No, I'm okay, sorry. I meant to call last night" ... "I went out to that field for some training and ended up spending the night out there." …... "I should have called sooner, sorry. We ran into some tough Pokemon, so I'll have to go to the Center." …... "They're okay for the most part, I'm more worried about this one I caught. It got hurt pretty bad. I was able to take care of it, but I would still like to get it checked by a Nurse." …... "Yeah, oh, I made a friend. She's having some problems and needs a place to stay for a couple days..." …... "No mom!" …. "I met her this morning, she's just-" …... "Elane." …... "I have no clue how old she is." …... "Why would you care about that?!" …... "MOM! Look, can she come over or not?"

The entire exchange was extremely amusing to her, she could hear every word his mother said, and began laughing. His mom was just as happily ignorant as he was.

"Okay, thanks. I'll be home in about an hour." He shut the device, and hooked it to the waistband of his jeans. He continued stomping through the grass in silence, hoping that this girl would explain what she was talking about once he got home.

It was a long walk through the field, and Elane was getting jumpy. The closer they got to the town, the worse it got. She jumped at every little noise, and finally stopped walking. Riley noticed this, and turned around. "What's wrong?"

"I should go inside the ball until you get to your house." She said, avoiding his gaze. She hated it in the Star Ball, most Pieces did, but it would be better than having this stupid kid walk around while she followed him. It would cause trouble that would otherwise be easily avoidable.

"Why?" He had no intention of actually putting her inside of the device. Pokeballs were fine for Pokemon, most of them liked it and weren't bothered, but putting a human being inside of one seemed disturbingly wrong.

She was going to have to explain this to him, and she was completely embarrassed about it. Now wasn't the place or time though, and she didn't want to waste time just standing around. "Just throw me the Star Ball would you? You don't get it, and I'm not explaining this to you right now. I have more to worry about than you trying to be moral."

He silently complied, pulling it out of his pocket and halfheartedly throwing it over. She had called it a Star Ball? At least he had a name for the item now. He didn't want to let her have it, but he knew that they would probably just end up standing there all day unless he did. Not that it was a bad place to hang out, but he'd really gotten sick of spending time in fields.

She tapped the diamond shape on top, which changed blue, then pressed the button. Suddenly she disappeared inside with a flash of white, and he was left standing alone, the Pokeball falling and the star on top turning back to white. Why did he always end up standing out in the middle of nowhere, alone, like an idiot? He couldn't think of anything to do but go pick up the Pokeball. Calling it that seemed wrong now that he had actually seen her disappear into it. Seeing her disappear into it made the whole thing seem so much more disturbing. He still felt completely awful about placing the sphere in his pocket. There was a human being in there. He had no clue how, or why, but there was a human being in there. He sighed and put it in the pocket opposite of the one holding his pokemon.

She had said something about a game called Chess, that she was obviously part of for some reason. Wasn't Chess a board game that old people played in the park? He was confused, although that didn't really seem to be any different from the rest of the morning. He sighed and shook his head, running a hand over his eyes and hair. He blinked, hadn't he put on a hat this morning? He shook his head, realizing that had been yesterday. He wondered where it had ended up. He knew he'd had it on before catching the Persian, but after? He wasn't sure.

He felt the transition from grass to brick, as he stepped into the town. It was noon, and a few people watched him walk by, not offering any words, as he made his way to the newly built Pokecenter. He would just get the Pokemon a routine checkup, and get his license renewed so he could keep them. He hadn't even thought about it until yesterday, and was hoping there wouldn't be any problems.

He stepped into the Center, looking around. He'd never been inside the one here, and it seemed to just be your typical center, nothing different about it from any others that he could tell. The typical pink wallpaper, a few couches and tables. There was a coffee machine over by a bookcase across the room to the left. The nurse behind the counter smiled pleasantly as he walked up, then frowned slightly. "Good... afternoon..."

He frowned a little. What was wrong? She had such a... weird look on her face. "Yeah, I was out in the field to the east training some. Could you look at my Pokemon? They got a little hurt, I'd like to make sure that there's nothing wrong." he pulled the three Pokeballs out of his pocket, setting them on the counter.

Suddenly the nurse flushed red, and burst into giggles. It took him about one second longer to realize what exactly was wrong. He had no shirt on. He had just walked into this public building, half naked. He wanted to just bury his head in his arms. "I'm sorry..." he muttered, but she didn't seem to hear him. He looked up at her again, something was oddly familiar about this nurse.

"Of course! You're Pokemon will be fine in a second! She grinned and grabbed the three Pokeballs setting on the counter. She went and fiddled with a machine behind the counter, placing the pokeballs inside. She looked at him for a minute, as if she were trying to remember who he was as well.

He cleared his throat, feeling awkward, and dug his trainers license out of the backpack. "Could you renew my license? I'm afraid it's been expired for a while now," he mumbled.

She looked at it for a second, then looked up at him, "Riley?! It's me, Serenity! I just moved out here because I heard there was opening at the center. How is Alice? I haven't heard from her in a while." She turned back to the machine and got his pokemon, checking the chart for a second. Everything looked fine.

Riley blinked a few times, he hadn't recognized her in the slightest, it had been about two years since they had last spoken. All he could do was stand there as she handed back his Pokemon. She scrunched her eyebrows together, thinking he was just being rude. "Well? What's wrong? Persian got your tongue?"

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, "Serenity, Alice is dead." He hated seeing it. He hated seeing the same pain he had felt for weeks and months reflected in the eyes of this bubbly girl his sister had been friends with for years. How had she not heard? He knew it was the same pain, because he had looked in the mirror and seen it for weeks after hearing.

He watched her face fall, and hated it, he watched her expression change to one of hurt, and then one of anger."You're messing with me. You have to be! Alice can't be dead, it's not possible! She could get out of anything..."

"I'm sorry." He choked on the word, barely able to spit it out, what she had done was nothing to be sorry for. "I'm not messing with you. Serenity, you know me. You knew her. Always..."

"Always the hero." The girl began crying, and he had no clue what he was supposed to do. She leaned over the counter and wrapped her arms around him, just crying. "I've spend the last few months just traveling around, I didn't know..."

He awkwardly patted her back, not completely comfortable with wrapping his arms around her. What on earth was he supposed to do? She had always been so random, one moment excited and jumpy, the next quiet and thoughtful. He had never been sure how to react around the girl. "Why don't you come over tonight, Mom and Dad would love to see you." That seemed like a good way to get out of explaining what had happened by himself.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Serenity straightened up, looking over Riley's shoulder as he turned around. "Um..." Was just about all he got our before the boy shoved him into the counter.

"Rob! Stop it, that's Alice's brother!" She glared at the boy, hands on her hips.

"Oh! I'm sorry, it's Riley right? Look, I'm sorry, I didn't know your sister was Alice." he backed up a few steps, giving him some room to breathe. He looked a little nervous. Riley just glared at him. This boy went to school with him, although he missed a lot. By tomorrow the entire school would know though, and he would either get a mess of insincere I'm sorries, or no one would talk to him at all.

"She's dead. And who she was makes no difference on who I am." He angrily shoved his hands in his pockets and stalked out of the building. He was sick of being 'Alice's brother,' he was sick of telling people that she had died. It had been all over the news for a week. Or at least that's when he'd stopped turning on the TV. He understood that a lot of trainers would spend weeks without contact from the outside world, but he thought that after the sixth or seventh newspaper article people would have gotten it. Apparently not.

.~.~.~.~.~

Well, so far so good. It was a pain to stay hidden like this, stealing Star Balls and giving them to people who would do what was right, but that was the life they had chosen for now, and they were going to follow through. It would be interesting to see how these two worked out. It hadn't been a random decision, they had made sure to find a way to get this particular Chess Piece to this particular person.

Elane was impossible for anyone to handle, they had looked up her file, and been impressed. Not because she was statistically the best, but because she had gone through her levels in less time than anyone else they'd looked at. Perfect to keep the mind of a depressed boy busy. Now they just had to make sure he didn't do something stupid and get himself captured. She was owned by the Red and White Houses, and it looked like neither was paying too close attention to her right now. If she began doing well they wouldn't care that much until she got into the finals, and it was the finals that they needed to make sure went their way. They wouldn't care about anything she did until then, and that was perfect for their cause.

Riley was perfect, because they knew he had more in him than he let on. He was quiet, and seemed depressed most of the time, but they had seen him train, they had watched him work with Pokemon. He was much more caring than he let on. They shared a glance, sitting at one of the tables near the back of the center. Hopefully Elane would explain the game to him soon enough, and then they could actually begin playing. They shared another glance, this was their only chance to win for good.

XOX

I meant to get this up yesterday, but by the time I got home our power had gone out and it didn't come back on until around four this morning. Sorry for the wait, I hope you enjoyed.

Thanks to japaneserockergirl for reviewing chapters one and two.

Thanks to Frozen Archer for reviewing chapter two.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

She stood a little in front of him as he pulled open the door, and she was inside before he could call out to his parents. He wasn't sure what she was so jumpy about, but he was glad that she had stopped calling him an idiot, for the most part. "Hi mom, I'm home!" He stepped into the house to see his mom sitting at the kitchen table, doing something on her computer.

"Was that your friend, who ran in here like she was on fire?" She glanced up at him, a slight smirk on her face.

Riley rolled his eyes, "probably. I saw Serenity today," he paused. "I'm sorry, I invited her over for dinner, I couldn't think of anything else to do, and didn't have much time to talk after the hug of doom."

"Hug of doom?" She gave him a questioning look. Serenity liked to give people hugs, but he'd never minded that before.

He frowned at her. "Yes. Hug of doom. It's that awful hug you don't know what to do with when you tell someone bad news."

"Oh," she quickly turned back to her computer. "You should go find your friend." She halfheartedly typed a few words, then ran her fingers through her blond hair. How long would it take for people to stop? She took a deep breath, at least he'd made a friend. It meant that he was dealing with this better than he was before.

"Yeah, thanks for letting her come over." He said quietly, walking into the living room. Now he just felt awful, his mom didn't need that right now.

He looked around, and saw Elane standing on the very bottom step of the staircase, looking up the stairs. "So," she said, "this is your house?"

"Umm, well, I live here, yeah." He watched her, a little confused. She turned to look at him for a second, grinned, and ran up the stairs.

Riley wasn't particularly concerned with her going up there, but he would prefer to keep her out of his parents room. Especially since his dad had the day off and was probably in his 'office,' working on 'something important.' Also known as, 'he spent another late night at work and is sleeping.'

Riley walked up the stairs after her, and watched her open the door to the closet at the end of the hall and pull out a towel. He was aware of the expression on his face as Elane grabbed another one and hugged it, breathing deep. He cleared his throat, "are you okay?"

She glanced at him for a second, then went back to hugging the two towels. "I'm fine." She mumbled into them. She sighed. It had been forever since she'd been able to just enjoy how clean towels smelt. She was surprised she really remembered.

He frowned. "Do you... uh... want to take a shower? The bathroom is there." He wasn't completely sure if this girl was being serious. It wasn't exactly normal to pull towels out of the closet and _hug_ them.

Elane looked to the door he was pointing at, glanced at him for a second, then walked, in the most dignified way that was possible while hugging towels to your face, up to the door, and paused. "Hand me the Star ball would you? Everything I own is inside of there."

"Um, sure. Just lock the door, you don't want my dad walking in on you or something." He handed it to her. He wasn't sure why she didn't just carry it around herself. A second later her remembered the bathroom in his parents room, but he still figured that it would be a good idea for her to lock the door anyway.

"No problem. Your mom seems nice, what is she singing?" Elane moved her head slightly, listening very carefully to something. It was a nice tune, more of a hum than singing, but she still liked it.

Riley just shook his head, "I have no clue what you're talking about." First she's angry and calls him an idiot, now she's what? Crazy?

Elane blinked, suddenly remembering. He didn't know, he didn't know anything. She just frowned, "right, sorry. Look, I'll explain everything later." She was beginning to feel awkward, he must be thinking that she's completely out of her mind.

"Just don't go in my parents room, I don't care what you do after that." He turned around and began walking down the stairs. She turned the knob on the bathroom door and stepped inside, closing it with a quiet snap behind her.

Riley paused on the stairs, then turned around and went up to his room. He stood in the doorway for a few minutes, noticing that someone had picked up most of the clutter. His dirty clothes had been put in a basket, that had been shoved up against the wall. The dishes and most of the bottles had been cleared from his dresser. There was one bottle in the middle, with a small note taped to it. He walked over and opened it.

'Just don't tell your dad. ~Mom'

He frowned. Don't tell him what? That he'd been drinking? Or that he had a girl over? Not that it was his intention to actually do anything, but he wasn't going to leave her standing there alone in the field either. The idea that he actually had someone over obviously made his mom happy, and it wasn't his place to upset her further. He wondered if it would be a good idea to tell his parents about the Star Ball.

No, because then he would have to tell them about the Persian, and he didn't want to even let them know he had it. That would just upset them, no matter what his excuse for having it was, it would make them both upset. Her Persian had been one of her favorite pokemon. Even when she'd left it behind with them, it wasn't usually long before she called, wanting the pokemon for some battle or other. Riley sat down on the bed, leaning back across it, thinking that he should probably put on a shirt. Or he could just lay there. It was his room after all.

It frightened him a little that his mom seemed not to have noticed his lack of a shirt. It wasn't a particularly warm day out, although it wasn't exactly cold out either. Jacket weather, his sister would have called it. He sighed and stuck his hand in his pocket, pulling out the contents. Three Pokeballs and some lint. He stared at the three, holding them up in both hands to look at. One slightly hyperactive Torchic, one slightly lazy Rilou, and one Persian without a name. His sister named all of her Pokemon. He wondered if the Persian was male or female, he hadn't checked while scanning the Pokeball last time.

He rolled over and set them down, going over to the closet and opening the door, a few items of clothing were hanging in there, looking limp forgotten in the dark. He frowned, maybe some things were best forgotten anyway. He looked up at the small shelf as he felt around with his hand, it took him a moment, there. He felt cold plastic and steel in his hands, and he pulled down the Pokedex.

She had left this one with him when Professor Oak had given her a new one last year, she had transferred all the data from this one into the new one, but it still held all of the data she had sent in. He wasn't completely sure how it worked, but he knew that he would be able to determine what gender the Persian was by scanning its pokeball. The rectangle was about five inches long and three inches wide, in the top right corner there was a small camera that served as its 'eye.'

He opened it up and pressed the power button. It took a second, then the machine blinked into life. He held his eye wide, and the camera on the inside scanned it and read off some data, then the two screens changed, and there were the menus. View Pokedex, Scan Pokeball, Scan Pokemon, and Search. He quickly selected 'Scan Pokeball' and picked up the Great Ball sitting on his bed. He held it about five inches away from the camera on the front, and it scanned the object.

"Scan Complete." It said in a mechanical voice. He jumped, quickly turning off the volume. He glanced around for a second, then looked back at the screens, feeling slightly guilty for some reason. The bottom told him the moves it knew and about any problems it had. A small light blinking on the Pokemons left foreleg caught his attention, and he slid the stylus out of its slot and tapped the image. He selected the red part, and the top screen began reading off some data. It finally told him that the Pokemon had fractured that bone a long time ago... nothing to worry about. He went back to the other screen, looking at the top.

Female, about three years old, seventy-eight pounds, three feet seven inches at shoulder. He went to the next page, it told him some basic information about the Pokemon, that the breed typically loved attention, and what it ate. There was supposed to be a map that would show the locations where they could be found, but it was totally blank. Other than the lack of map, it was typical information. He went back to the main screen and turned off the Pokedex.

He looked at it for a second, on the outside it was yellow with a diagonal orange stripe across it. Special design, made for her specifically after being one of the final four of the Hoenn League two years ago. Three before that one, she had been in the top six of Sinnoh. She had come so far, from going to the point of running away from home at ten, just so she could go someplace with her Pokemon, to making it into the final four...

Everyone had said it would have been between her and Damian this year. Her rival wasn't about to let her get ahead of him. He'd been training for a year longer after all. Riley thought about the picture of the boy he'd seen in the tent. He'd never really met Damian, but felt like he knew him because of how often he'd herd about the boy. Rising in fame if anything, just because he was his sisters rival and friend, he'd seen magazine clippings, news reports, taped battles. He'd watched them both lose in Hoenn, where they had been in the top eight.

He unzipped the backpack and placed the Pokedex in the same pocket as the Pokegear. He wasn't entirely sure why, maybe it was just that the idea of leaving such a huge part of his sisters life up in his closet to collect dust was unbearable at this point. He wasn't upset though, it was just something he had decided to do. That was all it was, he wanted the Pokedex on him for when he went out training, so he put it in the backpack. That was it.

He yawned, than sat down on the bed. He wondered if he was just getting over it... How was that possible? Getting over his sisters death? It didn't seem like something that should happen, it felt like betraying her, in a way. He looked up at the ceiling, just thinking. Nothing, some things, wondering what exactly that girl had been talking about, wondering what his mom was thinking about his missing shirt. Or even if she had noticed it at all. "I should put on a shirt." He muttered to himself. He stood up off the bed and began going through his unorganized dresser drawers.

.~.~.~.~.~

Elane took a deep breath, feeling the water running down her back. It was so nice, a hot shower. It had been a long time since she'd gotten to take a hot shower. Sure, she didn't really need one, the Star Ball eradicated any dirt on her body and clothes when she was transferred, but she still liked the feel of the water. It was calming, it made her feel normal. She was sharply reminded of how abnormal she was as she heard footsteps around the room across from the bathroom, and could smell the different shampoos in the bottles on the shelf to her left, strawberries, something that smelt almost like coconut, something that smelt like Riley.

She closed her eyes, ignoring the print on the back of the soap bottle in the small shower rack across from her. It was tiny, no one else in this house would ever be able to read that without picking up the bottle. She sighed, feeling the steam wrapping around her. She had the water as hot as it would go. Short of boiling, the water wouldn't hurt.

She frowned as her head began to hurt, the small vibrations of the water hitting the bottom of the tub seemed to keep growing louder. She took a few deep breaths, blocking out the sound. Elane turned off the water and grabbed the towels she had set on the bar hanging above a clothes hamper, wrapping one around herself and holding the other up to her face, breathing deep. It smelt fresh, a little floral.

Until she was twelve, she had had horrible allergic reactions to flowers. The alterations had fixed that. That was one of the few things she had liked about them, that she was able to smell flowers without sneezing. Find something positive in everything. That was what he had told her, that was what he had taught all of them. Always find something positive, no matter how bad the situation. The alterations had hurt, and they still hurt, every time she went up a level, every time she changed from a level one Pawn to a level two. Last time she had made it to a Rook, that was their signal for putting he into the actual game. She'd managed to make it up two pieces in just a week. Far faster than anyone else, but that was because she had been prepared. She had been prepared for much longer than most.

She had held back, she had waited, knowing what was coming. She had wanted to say good bye to him. She had wanted to spend as much time as possible with him.

The same age as her, but he had been in the game since birth. He was born into Red House, and he had been the best they had ever trained. Instead of playing out in the field, he had taken up training the other pieces. He had taken a special interest in her. She knew things the others didn't. Special points he had noticed, that when hit could cause paralysis, that could take an opponent and turn their knees to jelly in seconds, but the most important thing he had taught her was how she would never actually need to use those moves.

She was amazing with her sword. She had been the best in the class, because he taught her. He had taught her how even the smallest opening could be deadly, how to easily disarm her opponent in a few seconds. Elane had waited, she had been patient, because he'd asked her to stay. There was a reason he hadn't wanted to go out in the field.

The Alterations had been in him for too long. They had started him at the age of two, and he proved that the alterations were killing the Pieces. He hadn't told her, not until she was old enough to get them herself. She could have gone out two years ago, she could have been out of this game by now, with someone far more competent than the idiot she was stuck with. She had stayed because she couldn't stand the thought of leaving him.

He had gotten them to stop doing the Alterations without the permission of the Pieces, that had been his goal, to get them to explain what would happen and to make it so the Pieces had to give permission. But they were still just Pieces, and he was still dead. Just because he'd changed one thing didn't mean that they were really treating them any better. It was a game to them, and those who didn't like it weren't able to do anything about it.

He was gone, and almost nothing had happened because of it. Just one small change. They made the Alterations look cool, they hyped it up and let the dangers seem tiny. He had proved something only for it to be overlooked, they weren't treated like people. Elane pressed the towel to her face, letting it absorb a few silent tears.

Then, just two weeks after his death, she gets thrown out into the field as a level one Pawn with an Eligible. She _knew_ she was good enough to be started at least, _at least_ as a Rook.

She was mad at Riley, she knew that it was wrong to be, but if he didn't exist, or hadn't moved here, maybe she would already have a mark for the first competition. There had to be something good about this. He wasn't cruel. That was something she could be happy about. And he didn't smell completely awful like some people did. There, that was her positive thing. He didn't smell bad, and he was nice, even if he was completely ignorant. She allowed herself a small smile, and picked up the Star Ball.

XOX

Very sorry about how late this is. I've been having internet connectivity issues, but they've finally been fixed. I think.

Thanks to japaneserockergirl for reviewing chapters one, two, and three.

Thanks to Frozen Archer for reviewing chapter two.

Thanks to Radio Free Death for reviewing chapter one.

Thanks to darkmoonrise312 for reviewing chapter three.


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